Archived: Charlton Kings Care Home

Updated 4 December 2015

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 13 and 17 February 2015 and was unannounced. The inspection was carried out by an inspector from the Adult Social Care (ASC) directorate and an Expert by Experience (Ex by Ex). An expert-by-experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service, their area of expertise was older people and dementia care.

Prior to the inspection we looked at the information we had about the service. This information included the statutory notifications that the provider had sent to CQC. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. We reviewed the Provider Information Record (PIR) before the inspection. The PIR was information given to us by the provider. This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, tells us what the service does well and the improvements they plan to make which would be of benefit to people who used the service.

At the time of the inspection we talked with the entire residential community; this is all the people who used the service and included; their relatives, friends and other visitors. We interviewed members of staff which included the management team and the care workers; 6 care records were pathway tracked, we looked at 4 staff recruitment files and training records, staff duty rotas and a selection of policies and procedures relating to the daily operations of the service.

Updated 4 December 2015

Charlton Kings care home is owned by Charlton Care Limited. It is situated in the town of Cheltenham and offers accommodation for up to 36 older men and women. The service is a care home without nursing and provides accommodation for people who require personal care. There were 24 people who used the service at the time of the inspection. The previous inspections of April 2013 show the standards were not met. These standards included; consent to care and treatment, cleanliness and infection control, supporting workers and records. A follow up inspections which took place in July and September 2013 showed the standards were met.

The registered and deputy manager were present at the time of the inspection. They will be referred throughout this report as the management team. There was a registered manager in post at the service. A registered manager is a person who has been registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service and has the legal responsibility for meeting the requirements of the law; as does the provider. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People told us if there were any concerns they could speak to the care staff and the registered manager who were always available. People’s concerns were promptly actioned which were used as an opportunity to enhance the provision of care. People spoke positively about the service and were encouraged to provide feedback about the care they received. People had access to a range of activities which prevented social isolation and promoted an active life where people could enjoy their time at Charlton Kings care home.

The service had a good management and leadership team. Relatives were involved in their family members care and the enthusiasm of the care staff was observed throughout our inspection visits. People’s care and welfare needs were regularly monitored with the assistance of the local GP and the multi professional agencies. The provider had robust systems in place to assess and monitor the quality of the service to ensure people received consistent standards of care which enhanced people’s quality of life.

Staff told us there was an open culture and the environment was an enjoyable place to work. People felt management had their best interests at heart and they were integral to the process of providing effective care to people. Family members and friends said the management was approachable and transparent. Staff said management was supportive and open to their development of skill and knowledge. For example, there was regular training for staff to enhance their competence in their caring role.